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Penn State cornerback Jordan Lucas might also have a future at safety

Jordan Lucas

Penn State safety Jordan Lucas (14) gestures as he runs onto the field for warm ups before an NCAA college football game against Ohio at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pa., Saturday, Sept. 1, 2012.
(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

STATE COLLEGE – As a high schooler Jordan Lucas would search YouTube looking for players to model his game after. The now 6-foot, 193-pound Penn State sophomore said he’d search for clips of the top safeties and cornerbacks in the nation hoping to find someone else to analyze.

“He plays free safety and strong safety but he’s just a guy that is mean on the field, nasty and he plays with a lot of aggression,” Lucas said. “I really like that.”

Lucas saw the field last year as a true freshman, primarily on special teams. This year he’s started all six games at cornerback and Bill O’Brien hinted during Tuesday’s press conference that Lucas might have enough versatility to play safety too.

“Jordan Lucas is one of the better football players on our team,” O’Brien said. “He's just a great, competitive kid, tough, plays hurt, very good in man coverage, really good in zone coverage of understanding routes, got great ball skills. You know, I think he could also play safety.

“He brings a competitive toughness to our football team that I really like.”

Penn State moved junior cornerback Adrian Amos to safety this season and opposite him is fifth-year senior Malcolm Willis as well as redshirt junior Ryan Keiser. At corner the team has plenty of young talent with sophomore Trevor Williams, who starts alongside Lucas, and true freshmen Jordan Smith and Anthony Smith. There’s also sophomore Da’Quan Davis who backs up Lucas.

Whether or not Lucas ever gets moved in the future, or if they would just want to use him at safety in certain situations, is something to keep an eye on. Down the road Lucas said he’d be willing to play wherever the staff wants him to.

“Technically I haven’t really practiced at safety, but I’m familiar with every position in the secondary,” Lucas said. “If coach wanted me to play safety I would play safety. I’d have no problem with that. It would just take a little bit of getting used to with the techniques and everything but I feel pretty comfortable wherever they put me.

“I’m a football player. I feel like if you put me at corner or safety I’d be able to adapt quickly and just get rolling.”

Mid-way through his first season as a starter Lucas was asked what has been the toughest moment for him this season. After pausing for a couple seconds Lucas said the UCF game was one he’s learned from. Facing an impressive UCF aerial attack didn’t bode well for the entire Penn State defense and Lucas hasn’t forgotten that game.

“There were a lot of mistakes made against UCF and they are mistakes I look forward to not making in any more games here during my Penn State career,” he said. “You learn different things every week and one thing about being competitive [is] you try not to make those mistakes week to week so you just try to learn and get better.”

Lucas said even after the UCF and Indiana losses he’s still found ways to learn. He estimates he watches two and a half hours of film per day and said the game experience has provided him looks that he couldn’t duplicate standing on the sidelines.

Preparing to make his first trip to The Horseshoe on Saturday, Lucas said older teammates and former teammates have warned him about the hostile environment. He’s also seen plenty of Ohio State film to know the difficult task his Penn State defense will be pressed with.

“[I’m] definitely [gaining] more confidence and just getting used to being out there on the field and going up against good wide receivers and good quarterbacks,” he said. “I’m getting used to a lot of different pictures that I’m seeing and getting familiar with how to break on routes and how to deflect passes and it all comes with more playing time.”